Gun mount and shield.



J. F. MEIGS & H. G. JAKOBSSON.

GUN MOUNT AND SHIELD.

APPLIOATION FILED 11110.26, 1908.

3 SHEETS-MEET 1.

1 S Q W 1 s NI III?) HI: 2

w N is? 7 L m 3 3 {q o E=' .4 VQ 1 1 a m E y w I g a 5 $3 u dawn boas w N 1?%4 ZM WZZ/VM coLuMulA PLANUGRAPII uu wAsmmi'rua u x J, P. MEIGS & H. G. JAKOBSSON.

GUN MOUNT AND SHIELD.

APPLICATION FILED 1030.26, 1908.

1,007,224, v Patentd Oct. 31, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. F. MEIGS & H. G. JAKOBSSOIN.

GUN MOUNT AND SHIELD.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26, 19:08.

1,007,224. v Patented 001;. 31, 1911.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

o o I gwvawtoz s COLUMBIA vumoalulm CU.,WASH|NDTON, D.c.

and shield and a portion of the side of a UNTTED STATES PA ENT ornron.

J'OHN F. MEIGS AND HERMAN G. JAKOBSSON, OF SOUTH BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA,

ASSIGNOR S TO BETHLEHEM STEEL COMPANY, OF SOUTH BETHLEHEM, PENNSYL- VANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

GUN MOUNT AND SHIELD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

,Be it known that we, JOHN F. 'MEIGs and HERMAN G. J AKoBssoN, citizen of the United States and subject of the King of Sweden, respectively, residing at South Bethlehem, in the county of Northampton and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gun Mounts and Shields, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a gun mount and shield which .is particularly adapted for the installation of rapid fire guns behind armor.

The objects of the invention are to so mount the gun that it will have a maximum adjustment about its vertical axis for training purposes; to provide for so training the gun with a minimum opening in the side armor of the vessel; to protect the gunners by a shield which willat all times close the.

opening in the side armor; and to construct this shield as lightly as possible, in order that the weight upon the gun carriage may be as light as practicable.

With these objects in view we have produced a gun mount and shield, the preferred form of which is illustrated in the accom panying drawings, referring to which: 7 Figure 1 is a plan view of a gun mount vessel embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the gun mount and shield;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the shield show-H ing its supporting brackets. Fig. '1 is arear view, the shield being shown in section.

Referring to the drawing, 10 indicates the gun deck of a vessel, 11, its outer edge, and 12, the side armor above the deck. The armor 12 follows generally the outer outline of the ship, excepting that it is diverted inward toward each gun mount, as will be hereinafter described, or outward in the case where the guns are mounted in sponsons.

13 indicates a rapid fire gun, supported on a carriage 1 1, which is in turn pivotally supported upon a base or pedestal 15.

The vertical axis upon which the gun carriage turns is indicated at 16 in Fig. 1. The mechanism for rotating the gun carriage upon its vertical axis may be of any suitable character, and is preferably operated by a pair of opposing crank handles 17 The gun is supported on the carriage upon trunnions 18, the horizontal axis of which preferably intersects the vertical axisindicated at 16. The gun is turned upon its trunnions or horizontal axis by any suitable means, preferably driven by the opposing crank handles 19.

We so arrange the shield and armor for the gun that the entire gun crew is protected at all times, while a wide range of train ing of the gunis provided and the weight of the shield carried by the gun is reduced to a minimum for the degree of protection afforded by it.

20 indicates a cylindrical shield which is suitably supported upon the gun carriage by brackets 20 and 20 and through which the breech and muzzle ends of the gun project. A vertical elongated opening 21 is provided in the forward side of the shield to permit of the necessary range of elevation, and a sufficient opening 22 is also provided at the rear side of the shield to accommodate the vertical movements of the gun. The shield 20 is required to be circular in plan so that it will close the opening between the points 12 where the armor plate is cut away to receive it. The shield is also required to be concentric with the vertical axis'16 about which the gun turns in order that its relation to the points. 12 shall be the same in all of its adjustments. .The eye pieces of the sighting devices 23 we prefer tolocate as near to the trunnions as is practicable so that the vertical movement of the eyes of the gunners with respect to the platforms 24 upon which the gunners stand shall be slight, and the gunners may therefore follow the sights without much movement of their bodies, which is conducive .to accuracy of aim. As shown, the sights are above and slightly in front of the trunnions, and the gunners are permitted to stand on the platform abreast of the trunnions where the space betweenthe gun and the shield 20 is greatest. The size of the shield, or the length of its diameter, must equal the distance between the ends of the trunnions plus the space on each side which is necessary to permit a man to work the operating cranks 17, 19, freely. This determines the minimum diameter of the shield and it should be constructed of such minimum diameter in order that its weight may be reduced as far as practicable, as upon the weight of the shield the work to be done in training the gun partly depends. The diameter of the shield determines the opening in the armor plate between the points 12 which should also be minimum,

as the armor plate affords better protection to the gun crew than the shield. The gun crew is protected against missiles that may enter the opening 21 by a supplemental shield 25 upon the gun carriage. 7

We have determined that the maximum training movement of the gun for a given opening in the armor plate can be obtained by recessing the armor plate so that the portions adjacent the gun shield are at an angle to each other and by locating the vertical axis upon which the gun turns in line connecting the adjacent ends of the armor plate which are indicated in the present instance by 12 Assuming that the, gun shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing is trained forward, it will be seen that it may be turned from the posit-ion in which it is shown to the position indicated by the broken line m-m or 145 more or less; and in every position between these extremes the entire gun crew will be protected either by the armor or the shield. It will also be seen that the shield does not project beyond the edge 11 of the vessel which is a desirable feature, as the armor 12 thus protects the shield from projectiles ranging parallel with the center line of the vessel.

By the foregoing construction we are enabled to mount a gun so that it may be trained through a large horizontal angle, and aflord the best possible protection to the entire crew of the gun. We also so arrange the shield that the gunners who are occu-' pied with training and elevating the gun will havea maximum amount of space in which to work as compared with the diameter of the shield and may keep their eyes on the sights without interfering with their operation of the training and elevating handles.

Having thus described our invention what we desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with the side armor of a vessel, having an opening therein, of a gun mount located in said opening and having its vertical axis midway of the opening, a gun having trunnions seated in said mount, sighting devices carried by the gun.

and arranged .adjacent to the trunnions thereof, and a cylindrical shield carried by the gun mount and coaxial with the vertical axis upon which the gun turns, said shield having space within it for the gunner and inclosing the sighting devices.

2. A gun mount and shield comprising a pedestal, a carriage mounted on the pedestal to turn about a vertical axis, a gun mounted in trunnions on said carriage, the axis of vthe trunnions being arranged substantiallyto intersect the said vertical axis, a cylindrical shield carried by the carriage and coaxial with the vertical axis thereof, sighting devices and operating crank handles within the shield, and platforms for the gunners on opposite sides of the trunnions, said platforms being arranged to travel with the shield and carriage during the angular movement of the latter in training the gun.

3. The combination with a gun and its carriage, and means for moving the gun about vertical and horizontal axes, of a shield coaxial with the vertical axis of the gun, and inclosing the training and elevat ing mechanism and the spaces for the operators thereof, the said shield being completely cylindrical in form with the exception of openings through which the breech and muzzle ends of the gun project.-

4. The combination with the deck and side armor of a vessel, of a gun arranged to turn about a vertical axis and having a cylindrical shield'coaxial with said axis, the said shield and gun being located in an opening of said side armor, the'shield being entirely within the outer line of the 'deck, and the side armor being inclined from the outer portion of the deck toward the opening, whereby a maximum training range for the 'gun' is obtained without exposing its shield beyond the edge of the deck and sighting devices and a space for the gunner located within said cylindrical shield.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN F. MEIGS. HERMAN Gr. JAKOBSSON. Witnesses: LEIGHTON N. D. MIXSELL, EDWIN A. MILLER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the commissioner of Batents,

Washington; D. 0. 

